Kenyan pleads guilty to Nairobi attacks

[Che -Guevara]

A Kenyan man arrested in connection with two grenade explosions in the country's capital claimed in court on Wednesday that he was a member of al-Shabaab, Somalia's Islamist insurgent group.

 

By Mike Pflanz, Nairob

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

 

Elgiva Oliacha, 28, pleaded guilty to nine charges, including causing grievous bodily harm to two people in the second attack, on a bus stop in central Nairobi late on Monday.

 

Anti-terror police said that he was likely to face further charges relating to another explosion earlier the same day at an after-hours pub in the city.

 

Despite telling the court hearing that he was an al-Shabaab member, security sources said that they suspected that he acted alone and that the twin grenade attacks were not ordered by the Islamists' leadership in Somalia.

 

"It's just not their style, they'd go for something much bigger," said one Western diplomat in Nairobi.

 

The explosions had, however, deeply concerned commuters travelling in and out of Nairobi's centre, and led to even tighter security across the city.

 

"Usually that place is so loud, people shouting and noisy everywhere," said Evelyn Waimiru, an insurance administrator.

 

"These last two days, guys have been so quiet, not really looking at each other. The police are there in force, but they cannot be everywhere. We are worried, but we are alert."

 

The US said last week that it had "credible" information of an "imminent" terror attack on Nairobi, especially on areas frequented by foreigners including shopping centres and nightclubs.

 

Kenya's authorities have been stressing that they have significantly increased the numbers of armed and uniformed police in the city.

 

Officers found a cache of weapons, including 13 grenades, an AK47 and four pistols, at an address in a low-income estate on the city centre's edge late on Tuesday.

 

Security checks at some malls caused long traffic jams on Wednesday, and television news reports have featured hotels which have introduced state-of-the-art security measures to foil potential attacks.

 

Kenya sent two battalions of its armed forces into Somalia last week with a stated mission to root out al-Shabaab from its bases close to the countries' shared border.

 

Nairobi blames the Islamists for a series of abductions of Westerners from northern Kenya.

 

Al-Shabaab's leaders deny this, and have vowed revenge for the invasion, including fresh terror strikes on Nairobi.

 

Source: Telegraph

[Che -Guevara]

[Che -Guevara]

What was this guy's motivation one wonders?

[Miskiin-Macruuf-Aqiyaar]

Wixii xunba xaawada cusubaa leh -- Soomaalida. I hope qaraxyadaas dhacay inay intaas ku ekaadaan, sii balaaran and no Soomaali lasoo qaban. That is a very wishful in my part, though.

[Che -Guevara]

Is this guy even Muslim?

[STOIC]

He is a muslim-convert and identifying himself as Al-shabab agent.I think his other name is Mohamed Saif....Weird

[Che -Guevara]

I wonder how does Kenya's coming election figure into this war?

[Miskiin-Macruuf-Aqiyaar]

Plus ma ogtahay how much practicaly shilinkooda uu hoos ugu dhacay. Today boqolkii doolar waxaa lagu sarifaaye around 10,100 Kenyan shillings according to the folks. Meeqaa ku ogeyd boqolkii doolar lagu sarifo? 8,000? A few days ago it got around 10,700 to per $100 U.S.

 

At the beginning of this year, it was around 7,900 to 8,000 per $100 U.S.

[STOIC]

Che, it will definately raise questions about how the taxpayers money is used to foot the war bill..I'm sure it would be costly.For now it seems the whole country is riding the patriotic caravan....Once the drums of war stop roaring I think many Kenyans will question the invasion particularly once it is established that there is no more AS immenant threats...

[Che -Guevara]

MMA...That's significant jump. Have you left Kenya?

 

Stoic....I was reading an article on one of the Kenyan papers that Ministerial budgets are being revised to pay for the war. Social services will be hit the most. Let's say they make it to Kismayo, what's their plan, just stay there and get bogged down like Tigrays?

 

And also, Kenya hasn't addressed the post-election violence, is the war meant to mask the underlying ethnic problems?

[STOIC]

I suspect this will be a short lived invasion..I doubt Kenya has the psychological endurance for all out war once their economy tanks.It would be unwise for them to occupy lest they want to keep alive the iminenet spector of AS on their major cities..I'm still naive and believe this was trigered by ecomonmic panic and not any farfetched warmongers in Kenyan governement as suspicion and speculation has it....